Chip Kell, a two-time consensus All-America and three-time All-SEC selection during his playing days at Tennessee (1968-70), is the University's newest member of the College Football Hall of Fame, as announced today in New York City by Ron Johnson, Chairman of The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF). Kell is the 21st Vol to be selected to college football's shrine in South Bend, Ind.

The Class of 2006 will be inducted at The National Football Foundation's 49th Awards Dinner Dec. 5 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. They will be officially enshrined in ceremonies at the College Hall of Fame in the summer of 2007.

"I owe everything to God, my family, school and football," Kell said after receiving the news. "It was an honor to play for Coach Dickey and Coach Battle. I owe a great deal to my high school coaches, Lefty Thompson and Calvin Ramsey."

The call from the Hall of Fame was definitely a surprise.

"I was totally caught off guard when the Hall of Fame called," he said. "It's the most exciting thing that has ever happened in my athletic career. It's nice when people remember you and appreciate what you did, the things you accomplished.

"We had some fine teams back then. Ray Trail may have been the best line coach in the country. It was an outstanding group and I remember the camaraderie with the players."

Kell played center in 1968 as a sophomore and moved to guard in 1969 without missing a beat. He is one of 14 Vols named All-America twice. He joins three other former Vols, fullback Curt Watson (1969-71), offensive guard Mickey Marvin (1974-76) and placekicker Jeff Hall (1995-96, 1998), as Tennessee players who earned All-SEC honors three times.

Kell came to the Vols in the 1966-67 recruiting class from Avondale High School in Decatur, Ga. He played on teams that earned an 8-2-1 record in 1968, a 9-2 record and the SEC title in 1969 and an 11-1 mark and final No. 4 ranking in 1970. During his Tennessee varsity career, he and his senior classmates never lost on Shields-Watkins Field, with only a 17-17 tie against Georgia in the 1968 season opener marring the record. Kell and his Vol teammates closed their careers with a rousing 34-13 win over Air Force in the 1971 Sugar Bowl, ending their time at Tennessee on a 10-game win streak, 28-5-1 overall.

He was a two-time winner of the Jacobs Memorial Award as the SEC's best blocker and was the Birmingham Quarterback Club's SEC most outstanding lineman in his senior season. He also played in the 1971 Senior Bowl. He was named national lineman of the week after the 1970 Kentucky game.

"Chip Kell was one of the most powerful athletes that I had ever coached at that time," said former UT Director of Athletics Doug Dickey, his head coach in 1968 and 1969. "He was way ahead of his time in development by use of weight training, and he became a true leader on the football team."

After being drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the 17th round of the 1971 NFL draft and following a two-year career with the CFL Edmonton Eskimos (1971-72), Kell began his coaching career in 1973 and is currently in-school suspension instructor at Crossroads Academy in Dalton, Ga. He has twin daughters, Abby and Annie, 16, and a son, Dusty, 27, who lives in Knoxville, and two grandchildren.

The Vols have now had four College Hall selections in the 2000s and 10 since 1990.

To be eligible for the ballot, players must have been named a First Team All-America by a major/national selector as recognized and utilized by the NCAA for their consensus All-America teams, played their last year of intercollegiate football at least ten years prior, played within the last 50 years and be retired from playing professional football. Coaches must have coached a minimum of 10 years and 100 games as a head coach, won at least 60% of their games and be retired from coaching. In both cases, the candidate's post-football record as a citizen may also be weighed.

-By Tom Mattingly
East Tennessee Chapter
National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame